Thousands of Americans have gathered in Washington DC to add their voice to the heated debate over the US healthcare system.
They call themselves The Patriots, and they say they are ready to start a revolution in the fight for the health of future generations.
Herbert Hoover Rosser is an American veteran who says he has defended other people's liberties and now he is ready to defend his own:
”Our government is challenging our freedom to take total control of our lives and that is wrong.”
The self-proclaimed patriots came to Capitol Hill to tell their representatives to keep their hands off healthcare.
“We think what’s best for America is our traditional system of free enterprise and limited government, lower taxes and less spending,” says Phil Kerpen of Americans for Prosperity.
Put simply, the demonstrators are afraid that the American way of life is being threatened by a government-run healthcare program.
Fellow activist Betsy Dorton adds, “I believe in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and I feel that the country is turning towards socialism overall.”
The protesters say they do not want politicians to come between doctors and patients. They are looking for a system that gives Americans more choices but keeps healthcare in the private sector.
And it is not just healthcare that has set them off. They think President Obama is trying to control their every move.
“We’ve seen with the past year a government take over the banking system of some large insurance companies like AIG, of the auto industry,” Phil Kerpen continues. “And now we’re staring down the barrel of a potential government takeover of healthcare, of energy, of a number of other areas that would really transform permanently the relationship between government and the people.”
The thousands of protestors say they that their actions are to preserve their liberties for future generations:
”I’m a Korean veteran. I crossed the Pacific three times to battle for another man and another country’s liberty,” Herbert Hoover Rosser tells RT. “That’s why I’m here today to make sure my grandchildren and my great grandchildren have the same freedoms and the same rights that I had.”
The activists acknowledge there is a crisis, but believe a Washington takeover is not the answer.